The present invention relates to a pole mounted ceiling fan and to a method of making a pole mounted ceiling fan and especially to a pole mounted ceiling fan which attaches a conventional ceiling fan to the top of a vertical pole.
Ceiling fans are fans mounted from the ceiling of a room in a building or from the roof of a covered patio, or the like, and have a housing supported from a pipe or pole attached to the ceiling. They include a motor within the housing coupled to a plurality of rotating fan blades. The fan blades are coupled to the motor such that the fan can have a protruding fixed shaft from which electric wires can be extended through the middle of the electric motor and fan blades. This allows the attaching of switches for the fan below the fan blades and also for the attachment of light fixtures for adding an overhead light in combination with the fan. Ceiling fans provide an energy efficient means of cooling individuals in an area and it becomes desirable to have a ceiling fan with its slow rotation of fan blades in an open area, such as patio decks and screen porches. A pole mounted fan can be used in combination with a deck umbrella and a patio table, if desired. However, conventional ceiling fans are made to be hung from the top from a ceiling and therefore have the mounting for hanging the fan on top of the fan for attaching to a pole extending from the ceiling. To attach a conventional fan to an existing vertical pole would mean turning the fan upside down which would then blow the air in the opposite direction.
The present invention is directed toward utilizing a conventional ceiling fan which is attached directly to the top of a pole facing downward so that it avoids the problem of having a custom made fan and also the other problems involved in custom designing and building a fan for mounting to the top of a pole. To overcome this problem, one prior patent to Schwing, U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,822 has a fan support assembly which includes a column extending vertically from a base. The column has a U-shaped arm on top thereof with a fan adapter plate connected to the end of the arm so that a conventional fan can be attached in a convention manner hanging from the now downwardly extending arm. However, such an arrangement requires a longer vertical reach and requires a considerable mass to support the long U-shaped arm supporting a relatively heavy fan on the end thereof.
Other prior U.S. patents can be seen in the Cohen et al. Publication No. U.S. 2002/0096203 for a Fan Assembly for an Umbrella which takes a conventional umbrella and mounts a fan on the pole beneath the umbrella. In the U.S. Patent to Benton, U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,188, a Patio Table and Pole Fan Combination are illustrated and uses a fan mounted on the pole which passes through the center of the patio table. The fan also has lights mounted thereto and has the umbrella cover mounted on top of the fan. In the Cohen U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,084, a fan is combined with an umbrella and has a fabric or vinyl canopy attached to a plurality of splines. It has a fan assembly mounted to the pole beneath the umbrella with a clamp for attaching the motor housing to the umbrella shaft. In the Herman U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,049, a Salad Bar Fan is illustrated having a pair of fans mounted over a salad bar. The Molnar, IV, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,582, shows a Table Umbrella Apparatus having the motor mounted in the base of the pole. In the Molnar, IV, U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,866, a Table Umbrella Apparatus has a fan which is directing the air upwards into the table umbrella which then has baffles for directing the air downward onto the table. The Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,152 is a Rotating Patio Umbrella Fan which shows a rotating patio umbrella fan which also has the fan motor mounted in a base for driving a shaft extending through the upwardly extending pole having the fan blades attached above the pole.
In contrast to these prior U.S. patents, the present invention is directed towards making a patio fan or the like using a conventional ceiling fan mounted to the end of a pole but which faces directly down from the pole to direct the air directly down to the area below which may have a patio table or the like thereunder and which simplifies the manufacture and cost of a patio fan.
A pole mounted ceiling fan includes a conventional electric ceiling fan having a fan housing and an electric motor mounted therein and a plurality of blades coupled to the electric motor for rotation thereby. A center shaft is fixedly attached to the electric fan and extends through the electric motor and plurality of fan blades for attaching a light fixture below the fan housing. A vertically extending pole has a top end and a ceiling fan to pole adapter is attached to the ceiling fan center shaft and to the vertically extending pole so that a conventional ceiling fan is attached to the top of a vertical pole. A method of making a pole mounted ceiling fan includes selecting the conventional ceiling fan and the vertical extending pole and making a ceiling fan to pole adapter for attaching the ceiling fan center shaft to the pole and then attaching the ceiling fan to the pole with the ceiling fan pole adapter.